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Gap in legislation has left Paris Bakery workers high and dry – Tóibín

Speaking on the Employment Permits Bill today Sinn Féin’s Peadar Tóibín TD welcomed the closing of a legislative loophole highlighted by the Younis case. He warned that the compensation mechanism may not act as a sufficient deterrent to rouge employers.

Deputy Tóibín also criticised the Minister for Jobs for failing to safeguard workers who are left high and dry due to informal insolvencies as has happened with the Paris Bakery workers’ who are owed significant amounts of backdated pay.

The Sinn Féin Spokesperson for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovations said:

“Whilst the Bill addresses the legislative anomaly highlighted by the Younis case the government’s decision to limit compensation to a calculation based on the minimum wage dilutes its effectiveness as a deterrent.

“Introducing flexibilities into the employment permit system to facilitate foreign direct investment start-ups and address urgent high skill needs are necessary but so too is a strategy to meet this skills deficit from the Irish workforce in the medium and longer term.

“The government has conceded in its Action Plan on Jobs that at least 25 per cent of ICT jobs will go to workers from outside of Ireland for the foreseeable future. If Ireland is to become the internet capital of Europe we need government to commit itself to an ambitious target for filling these jobs with Irish workers.

“Due to a well voiced gap in regulation and legislation workers from the Paris Bakery in Dublin have been left high and dry. Two years have passed since the government voted down my legislation which if supported would have safeguarded the Paris Bakery workers’ rights and ensured they would receive their entitlements.” ENDS